Metaphor - A direct comparison between two unlike things.
Examples: He was the rock of our relationship, always steady and strong.
We sought to escape the prison that was our home.
No man is an island —John Donne
Simile - An indirect comparison between two unlike things using like or as.
Examples: My love is like a red, red rose —Robert Burns
You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye, but I'm getting blown away —Neil Young
Personification - Giving a human trait to non-human things.
Examples: The wind whispered my past to me with no regard for my present state of mind.
As if to confirm what we saw, the town siren wailed up the scale of a treble pitch and remained there, screaming. -Harper Lee
Hyperbole - Excessive exaggeration.
Examples: If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. -Emily Dickinson
This backpack weighs a ton!
Sound Effects
Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Examples: I saw lingering, late and lightless/ A single swan, swinging, sleek as a sequin. -W.R. Rodgers, "The Swan"
Quentin sat quietly during quidditch.
Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds in close proximity in a line.
Examples: And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side/ Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride. -Edgar Allen Poe, "Annabel Lee"
Keep the meat sweet, please, and I will eat.
Consonance - The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity.
Examples: "...as in guys she gently sways at ease"
Lock the back door before tickling the duck.
Onomatopoeia - The use of language that sounds like what it means.
Examples: pop! snap. Drizzle. Murmuring.
Poetry Terms for the Exam
Figurative Language
Metaphor - A direct comparison between two unlike things.Examples: He was the rock of our relationship, always steady and strong.
We sought to escape the prison that was our home.
No man is an island —John Donne
Simile - An indirect comparison between two unlike things using like or as.
Examples: My love is like a red, red rose —Robert Burns
You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye, but I'm getting blown away —Neil Young
Personification - Giving a human trait to non-human things.
Examples: The wind whispered my past to me with no regard for my present state of mind.
As if to confirm what we saw, the town siren wailed up the scale of a treble pitch and remained there, screaming. -Harper Lee
Hyperbole - Excessive exaggeration.
Examples: If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. -Emily Dickinson
This backpack weighs a ton!
Sound Effects
Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds.Examples: I saw lingering, late and lightless/ A single swan, swinging, sleek as a sequin. -W.R. Rodgers, "The Swan"
Quentin sat quietly during quidditch.
Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds in close proximity in a line.
Examples: And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side/ Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride. -Edgar Allen Poe, "Annabel Lee"
Keep the meat sweet, please, and I will eat.
Consonance - The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity.
Examples: "...as in guys she gently sways at ease"
Lock the back door before tickling the duck.
Onomatopoeia - The use of language that sounds like what it means.
Examples: pop! snap. Drizzle. Murmuring.